THE CORPORAL

Why did Zoe remain a corporal? This was written for my pal and corporal Hez because she is such a sucker for that line.

He bolted to his feet the moment he saw her push aside the flap and exit the distant Command tent.

“Gorramit, Reynolds, sit down!”

“Later.” Mal shook off the medic’s grip and fairly charged out of the med tent, striding across the dirt of the makeshift compound, meeting her halfway.

“Zoe?”

“Sergeant.”

Tzao gao. Her face was standard Zoe unreadable, but her greeting… she’d addressed him by rank, rather than the usual honorific. Tzao gao! He’d lost her. Not that he hadn’t expected it. Hell, it was surprising they’d lasted as long as they had.

“You should be getting that seen to.” She pointed to the shrapnel gash on his forehead, her own right hand and wrist freshly bandaged.

“Later.”

“Gonna leave another scar in the collection.”

“Long as I’m still pretty.” He spoke the rote answer without hearing it, trying to size her up. She was evading the issue. Worse, then, worse than he had thought. Son of a bitch. Any time, it seemed, any time in this gorram war when something went right, it got taken away. “Zoe---”

She started walking and he automatically moved with her.

“Who is it? Hicks? You going with Hicks?”

Her expression revealed nothing and he pressed on, struggling through the inventory of names on the call-up sheet he’d pilfered.

“McGrath? God, he’s a worthless slug. I’ve met some of his boys. Choi? ‘Cause I hear he ain’t too bad…”

She was looking straight ahead as they walked, wasn’t going to give him so much as a gorram morsel. He knew times like this she was working on the way to say something and it was best to wait her out, but he wished she’d answer already. Truth be told he was feeling a little lightheaded, almost feeling a need to sit rather’n match those long strides ‘til she spilled her news. Maybe the new corporal’d